ISLAMABAD- Following the deadlock in the negotiations, both Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan and Pakistan Awami Tehreek chief Tahirul Qadri Wednesday night declared failure of parlays and completely shutting the doors of talks with government.
Both the leaders grilled the Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif for his ‘stubborn attitude’ toward saying that now there were not morally bound to seek peaceful solution to the issues through negotiations and they could take any decisive step for the fulfilment of their agenda.
After two stints of negotiations with PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri the government negotiation team left the venue empty handed, leaving the deadlock further deepened. PAT chief announced another deadline, Thursday evening, for final show down.
The government team arrived at the PAT sit-in just a couple of hours before the expiry of the ultimatum given by PAT chief and initiated dialogue with him. Sources informed that government team comprising Ishaq Dar, Zahid Hamid and Mian Javid Shafi listened to the demands of Dr Qadri. After arguments and counter arguments PAT chief reportedly slashed down his original demands and asked the government team to immediately lodge the FIR in the Model Town tragedy and sought resignation of Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif along with removal of his government. Opening of meaningful negotiations on rest of the demands was also sought.
Government sources said the government team sought time for consultations with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on these revised demands and when they again came back, the deadlock remained intact with government side again leaving back to have final word with Premier and then conveying a clear ‘no’ to PAT on telephone.
PM House sources informed that Premier Sharif was not ready to show any flexibility on the revised demands which now did not include the demand of his own resignation. He rather proposed resolving the issue under the Islamic injunction of Dayaat (blood money) to the heirs of those killed in Model Town carnage.
Earlier, after the failure of negotiations, PTI Chairman Imran Khan had also shut the doors of negotiations for good and he also came up with the fresh deadline of until Thursday evening. In the fifth and last round of negotiations between the government and PTI, the two sides again failed to break the impasse as they kept sticking to their positions on the matter of PM’s resignation.
The talks, which were held at the residence of PTI central leader Jehangir Khan Tareen, continued for well over two hours. The government team comprised Senator Ishaq Dar, Kh Saad Rafique, Abdul Qadir Baloch, Pervaiz Rasheed and Zahid Hamid while PTI team comprised Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Pervez Khattak, Arif Alvi, Assad Umar and Jehangir Tareen. Neither the government nor PTI negotiators spoke to the media as they came out of Tareen’s residence.
Sources informed that the government team was even not ready to send the prime minister on leave during the period of probe by high powered judicial commission into the alleged rigging in the general elections. On rest of the demands, the government was not only ready to accept them but also ready to give leading role to PTI in bringing about electoral reforms and reconstitution of Election Commission of Pakistan.
Earlier in the day, hectic consultations with various stakeholders continued throughout the day on Wednesday with Punjab Governor Ch Mohammad Sarwar and Sindh Governor Dr Ishratul Ebad rushed to Islamabad on the direction of PM while Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif also cut short his visit to China and landed back in Lahore late Wednesday night. Both the governors went to Dr Qadri but they failed to play any role to break the stalemate as both the government and PAT leadership were not ready to budge from their declared stand.